Firstly, let me thank Will Kettle as race director and to Kevin Laffy who stepped in as handicapper (I hope our winner bought you a beer).
Thank you to our photographer Richard Bailey and to our marshals, the ever reliable Laurie Grealy, Max Trewhella and to EMCC legends Joel Pike and Frank Ryan who put their hand up.
The 14 riders in today's race appreciate your support.
Off limit was Dave Menzies, giving a good chunk of time to the group of Claire Goodman, Jerrod Davison, Russell Jeffreys, Dave Faulkner and Dave Oman, with Graeme Butcher and Matt Dobeli paired a couple of minutes back.
In block was the grouping of John Brian, Scott Moller (on a bright and shiny new bike), Matt Grealy and Bryce Denham, enjoying a bye at footy.
Our scratch markers were Nick Woods and Matt Sherman.
Our lone limit marker set off with our ride participants Mick Ciavarella and Pam Trevarton (welcome Pam), while the chase group behind started to disintegrate from the beginning.
Jerrod Davison was in trouble early, and Russell, who was head in hands after the warm-up, dropped soon after.
Claire was feeling uneasy as Dave Faulkner referred to her as ‘Double D’, but was pleased to learn it was for her ‘double denim’ outfit.
Matt and Butch rode steadily to gain ground, while block pulled closer from behind.
In our scratch group, Nick Woods took on the role of shuttle bus as he dropped Matt Sherman off at the golf club on the first lap.
Matt and Butch joined with Claire on lap three as they pushed ahead, knowing they had a good lead on the groups behind, but also wondering if they’d seen Dave Menzies yet.
Into the final straight, it was Dave Menzies, the clear winner from Graeme Butcher in second with Matt a half wheel behind in third, while Claire continued to ride strongly for fourth.
The block group kept their together to make up over 5 minutes on the group in front, while Matt Grealy capped off a great ride, winning the sprint over Scott Moller for 5th and fastest time.
Thanks again to all our race day officials and thanks to Dave and the team at The Border Inn Hotel for your hospitality, we'll see you all next week in Lockington for the prestigious Noel Smith Memorial.
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